The best Linux distros 2017: 8 versions of Linux we recommend

Update: For our developer and sysadmin readers, we've added the enthusiast-favorite openSUSE to our list. Read on to number 8 to find out more!

If you can’t stand the lackluster security of a Windows computer, but macOS is much too shallow, allow us to introduce you to Linux. Basically the Doom of open-source software, Linux started out exclusive to x86 PCs and has since made its way to everything from Android phones to servers and even to Chromebooks.

• These are the best Linux training providers and online courses in 2017

Based on a family of operating systems called Unix, which rose to modest fame in the late 1970s, Linux has been adopted by various software developers who have all made it their own in different forms known as distributions, or distros. All of the top Linux distros take the Linux kernel, the heart and soul of the operating system and shape it to fit their own desktop environments.

The best Linux distros are each tailored to specific types of users. So while Ubuntu is popular for its accessibility to newcomers, Arch Linux has the opposite appeal. It’s intended for users to take advantage of the Linux terminal and type their own commands to achieve otherwise simple tasks like installing apps. Technical details aside, these are the best Linux distros.

Shashank Sharma, Nick Peers, Nate Drake and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article

• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

If you’re after a distro that gets you as far away as possible from the image of a nerdy hacker type bashing away at a terminal interface, Elementary OS is what you need. It’s probably the most attractive distro around, with a style similar to that of macOS. This operating system’s superb desktop environment is known as Pantheon, and is based on Gnome.

The latest version of Elementary OS is called Loki, which as well as being that bit prettier and neater than its predecessor Freya, has its own application installer UI called AppCenter. It’s a delightfully simple way to install apps outside the terminal, which is handy as there aren't very many preinstalled. 

Elementary OS does, however, come bundled with the Epiphany browser, the Geary email client and a few basic ‘tool’ apps. You may need to add more programs but this is more than made up for by Elementary OS’ Elegance. 

You can get started with Elementary OS here

Linux Mint is a great ‘default’ distro for new Linux users, as it comes with a lot of the software you’ll need when switching from Mac or Windows, such as LibreOffice, the favoured productivity suite of Linux users. It also has better support for proprietary media formats, allowing you to play videos, DVDs and music out of the box. 

You can download four main starter flavours of Mint 18, each of which uses a different desktop environment, the top-most layer of the interface allowing you to change elements such as the appearance of windows and menus. Cinnamon is currently the most popular, but you can also choose the more basic MATE, Xfce or even KDE. 

All these desktop environments offer a good deal of customisation options, so feel free to download a few and boot as Live CD prior to installing to see which works best.

You can get started with Mint here

If you’re willing to try a slightly less user-friendly distro, Arch Linux is one of the most popular choices around. Arch allows you to customise your build using the terminal to download and install packages, and it’s particularly handy for developers and those with older machines who may not want unnecessary packages taking up space.

Of course, this used to be the way all Linux distros were set up, but there are now much more user-friendly methods available. There’s even such a version of Arch Linux – it’s called Antergos. This comes with more drivers, more applications and a bunch of desktop environments to let you change the look of the system. Its aim is to hold your hand and get you up and running with all the basics right from the initial install, but it’s still Arch Linux underneath.

The hardcore crowd may turn their noses up at packages like Antergos, but when it saves those newer to Linux hours of potentially frustrating fiddling about, we’re all for it.

Antergos’ graphical installer can guide you through the setup process and boot you to the Gnome 3 desktop environment. It can also use the Cinammon, MATE, KDE and Xfce environments if you prefer. Antergos doesn't come with an office suite but you can install this and other programs via the delightfully named Arch package manager ‘pacman’.

You can get started with Arch Linux here or Antergos here

Ubuntu is one of the most popular flavours of Linux and along with Mint is strongly recommended for Linux newbies, as it's extremely accessible. 

At the time of writing we’re up to Ubuntu 17.04, just note that this is not an LTS (long term support) release. These guarantee five years of security and general maintenance updates, so you can carry on using your machine without the hassle of running a full upgrade every few months. 

The current version of Ubuntu uses the Unity interface, which may be less familiar to Windows and macOS users. There are variations of Ubuntu which employ different environments such as Lubuntu, which uses the minimal LXDE desktop environment and a selection of fast, lightweight applications. This places far less strain on system resources than the graphic-intensive Unity. 

You can get started with Ubuntu here and Lubuntu here

Tails is a privacy-oriented Linux distro which has the aim of concealing your location and identity as much as possible. Even Edward Snowden used it. 

The OS routes all its internet traffic through the anonymising Tor network, which is designed to prevent data from being intercepted and analysed. Underneath all the security measures, it’s based on Debian Linux and uses the Gnome desktop so the interface is still clear and user-friendly. 

Tails isn’t for everyone, but this niche OS does give you some peace of mind if you’ve been fretting about all the worrying privacy-trampling legislation being passed these days. 

You can get started with Tails here

CentOS 7 is a community offshoot of the Enterprise version of Red Hat Linux, and its focus is on stability rather than constant updates. Like Red Hat, security and maintenance updates for CentOS are pushed out up to 10 years from the initial release of each version. 

The idea is to make CentOS super-reliable. For that reason, it’s a great choice for a server, if not quite so hot for someone looking for a new OS for daily use on their desktop PC or laptop.

On the plus side, you can enjoy the pleasure of having something for nothing – packages compiled for the commercial version of Red Hat Linux are fully compatible with CentOS, so you can use them free of charge. 

You can get started with CentOS here

If you want a home music recording studio or a video production workstation without spending the thousands of pounds involved with industry standard software, consider installing Ubuntu Studio. 

This officially recognised flavour of Ubuntu Linux has been designed for audio and video production, as an alternative to paid software such as Pro Tools. Support for audio plug-ins and MIDI input is built in and a virtual patch bay comes preinstalled. 

Ubuntu Studio’s repositories have access to the packages in the main Ubuntu OS as well as a few digital audio sequencers. Its main strength is in audio recording through tools like the JACK Audio Connection Kit.

You can get started with Ubuntu Studio here

Previously known as SUSE Linux and subsequently SuSE Linux Professional, openSUSE is aimed at developers and system administrators. For that reason, it’s extremely stringent on security protocols. 

It’s so exact, for instance, that to carry out virtually any task in openSUSE, you’ll need to enter a root password. At the same time, however, openSUSE brings with it a KDE and a GNOME desktop, covering everyone’s login needs.

One of the more polished Linux distros around, openSUSE is consistently ranked in the top five distros on DistroWatch.com. What’s more the openSUSE Project’s website offers the ability for users to choose which packages, a la carte, are included in their openSUSE install.

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macOS High Sierra public beta is available to download right now

Apple promised it would drop the public beta for macOS High Sierra this week and it’s finally here at long last.

The early version of Apple’s latest operating system for Macs is available to download now, all you have to do is follow through this link, enroll your devices and follow our how to install guide. 

Just be aware there are always inherent risks and potential device bricking bugs that come with new operating systems, especially untested betas such as this.

High Sierra is the second installment of macOS – since the name change from OS X – and it brings some big changes including a completely new APFS-based file system that replaces the aging HFS architecture. Now that probably won’t really mean a whole lot to you unless it complete borks all your files, but you should notice the new system is faster and save a bit more storage space.

Some changes you will actually notice include a completely reworked Photos app that adds more image editing options to make it a truer successor to Apple’s Aperture. Safari now has more options to disable autoplaying videos on websites and shield you from advertisers from tracking your online web browsing. Mail has also been tweaked to take up to 35% less space and make searching easier.

• Those were just a few of the changes that comes with macOS High Sierra, check out our hub article for everything else and good luck with the beta.

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Facebook Messenger wants to be buddy and business: but can it really be both?

Facebook Messenger is in an interesting stage of its existence, in the same week it launched a collection of fun Snapchat-style video add-ons and Discover, where you can find and communicate with businesses.

It makes sense for Messenger to be integrating businesses into the platform, as currently there doesn’t seem to be a way for Facebook to monetize the platform. 

Our question is: is there room for both things to exist on the same platform? We were invited to a roundtable with David Marcus, head of Messenger for Facebook where we were able to discuss this with him.

“The experience itself works, it’s just the term is not compelling to consumers. You’d be hard pressed, even in the Discover surface of Messenger to find the term ‘bot’ because people want to interact with brands, with services, but not with bots, because they don’t know what that is.”

But we’re not sure we agree. We don’t think that people don’t want to talk to bots because they don’t know what they are; we think people don’t want to talk to bots because they aren’t yet developed enough that you can communicate with them naturally. Which makes the hiding of all references to bots feel a little suspect. 

Who are you talking to?

Marcus was reticent to discuss exact numbers of users that are interacting with bots on Messenger, but he did tell us: “There are about 2 billion messages a month exchanged between businesses/services on Messenger. That number has doubled in a year, and that includes automation and human interaction.”

Clearly with the amount of interaction increasing at that rapid pace, there is a demand for someone (or something) to be handling that demand. And possibly a chatbot is the best way to go about it.

The problem is, we’re a long way from your standard brand bot in Messenger passing the Turing test. And what this means is that Messenger is in a place where you have dry, corporate conversations with an unnatural corporate chatbot at the same time as a frivolous video chat with your friends wearing a digital rabbit mask. 

Marcus thinks that this disparity is not a problem: “I think this notion that people want to be serious on some platforms and fun on other platforms is pretty antiquated. You want to communicate. And of course, when you want to communicate with your bank, you’re not going to send them a pic of yourself with a rabbit mask.”

Digital Jekyll and Hyde

“The same way that you as a person can walk in a bank branch and be very serious and have a conversation,” Marcus continued, “and then go to the pub and goof around with friends. You’re still the same person, you just interact differently in different situations. We think the same is true in your digital life.”

And to a certain extent he’s right. In a browser window you can go from online banking to trawling Reddit with the click of a button, but that feels different somehow. Perhaps it’s to do with branding. 

Messenger feels like a tool, and if you can’t tell if a tool is a hammer or a whisk, are you going to use it for either function? 

This isn’t the first time that a company has tried to bridge the gap between fun and financial; Blackberry’s Messenger BBM tries to tread this line, and it has never fully managed to make it work while gaining the popularity of Messenger of WhatsApp.

Facebook does manage to be sprawling enough as a platform that it can handle a diverse range of content, so perhaps it is the best company to try and make this diverse Messenger work. 

Discover has only just launched in the US, and will be launching worldwide in the not-too distant future, so we probably have a little while to wait before we can get an accurate gauge of how successful it is. 

• Now everyone can play games in Facebook Messenger

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Windows 10’s AutoPilot feature could see the OS take off with businesses

Microsoft has been spilling the beans on further goodies which will arrive for businesses in the Fall Creators Update for Windows 10, including a juicy new feature which will make it a snap to set up a business PC.

Of course, deploying a PC (or indeed multiple PCs) to staff can be a headache of a task, so Microsoft is gunning to seriously simplify the whole process with what’s called Windows AutoPilot.

As the name suggests, this takes all the hassle out of setting up a new Windows 10 PC, automatically doing pretty much everything for you. A new Windows AutoPilot Deployment Program will allow PC vendors to link a device to an organisation, and enable a new PC to immediately be made ready, and joined to Azure Active Directory, enrolled in Intune and so forth.

Specific settings can be automatically applied, appropriate business apps installed, Office 365 set up, and everything will theoretically be ready to go with a minimum of fuss.

AutoPilot should mean that a staff member can set up their own new PC without any help from the IT department; a pretty bold claim indeed.

This new feature could certainly help accelerate Windows 10’s progress in the business world, because anything that makes organising the deployment of a new OS easier is obviously going to be very welcome.

Microsoft says that the Surface team is already working with partners to get the scheme ready to roll, and Windows AutoPilot should be available to business customers ‘later in the year’ (obviously after the Fall Creators Update emerges).

The big autumn update will also incorporate Windows AutoPilot Reset, a quick and simple way to reset a machine to the last good working state without messing up device management and Azure Active Directory settings.

MDM magic

Speaking of mobile device management (MDM), new capabilities will be coming in this area, including the ability to configure and deploy Windows Defender Application Guard, as well as baseline security settings, making it easy to impose recommended security settings on managed devices across a business.

It will also be possible to configure Windows Firewall rules.

Furthermore, Microsoft also said that Windows Analytics will be getting a new feature by the name of Device Health. The idea here is to monitor system stability and health, pick out potential issues that the user may not have even noticed yet, and remedy them, thus avoiding future problems and downtime.

Along with AutoPilot, this should be a major boon for businesses who have made the leap to Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system.

• We’ve highlighted the best business antivirus software of 2017

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Samsung will reportedly revive the Galaxy Note 7 with a Korea-only ‘Fandom Edition’

 Samsung is reportedly gearing to revive the Galaxy Note 7, its disastrous 2016 smartphone that was recalled after battery problems caused units to catch fire, with the limited release of a new model. The company hinted a few months ago that it planned to make such a move, but now we have more details. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Note 7 FE (that stands for ‘Fandom… Read More

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Microsoft to beef up Windows 10 antivirus to catch up with rivals

Microsoft is set to further tighten up security for businesses when the Fall Creators Update arrives for Windows 10, promising a raft of new features and ‘end-to-end’ security that leverages cloud intelligence to keep PCs protected – alongside a transformation for Windows Defender which will become a ‘next-gen antivirus’.

The main thrust of this is overhauling Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) so it’s seamlessly integrated across the entire Windows threat protection stack, with centralised management features to put a premium on ease-of-use.

Furthermore, ATP will be expanded to protect machines running Windows Server, and it will be enhanced with a raft of new capabilities that Microsoft describes as ‘next-generation approaches’ to threat prevention.

And that includes Windows Defender Exploit Guard, which essentially makes the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) native to Windows 10, bolstered with new vulnerability mitigations.

Exploit Guard will also use intelligence drawn from Microsoft Intelligent Security Graph to offer a set of anti-intrusion policies and rules to defend against sophisticated threats including zero-day attacks.

Guards to tackle everything

A further new tool will also be coming in the form of Windows Defender Application Guard, and this defends applications – primarily the browser, which is the avenue of most attacks – from any malware encountered online, isolating a threat before it can spread to the network and other devices. Basically, this is another layer of defence on top of traditional methods such as antivirus software.

Also, Device Guard will be integrated into Windows Defender ATP in order to make application control easier to implement, turning a tricky area which can be something of a minefield for IT staff into a much more palatable experience, and again tightening security as a result.

Microsoft also notes how Windows Defender ATP’s threat protection has been considerably bolstered by cloud intelligence and machine learning, allowing for more accurate threat prevention.

The power of the cloud is also helping to drive Windows Defender Antivirus to more secure levels of protection, with Microsoft describing it as a next-gen antivirus in the ‘truest sense’.

So when it arrives later this year, it’ll be interesting to see what the independent testing labs which evaluate security software make of this revamped Windows Defender in comparison to the big rivals which normally considerably outscore Microsoft’s app.

• These are the best antivirus apps of 2017

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macOS 10.13 High Sierra release date, news and features

Apple has announced the latest version of its operating system for Macs and MacBooks at WWDC 2017: macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

Last year’s update to the Mac OS X of old was very well received, bringing better integration between Macs running the software and iPhones and Apple Watch devices.

With the reveal of macOS 10.13 High Sierra now official, here's everything we know so far.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The 2017 edition of Apple’s Mac operating system, macOS
• When is it out? Public beta in late June; full release in autumn
• What will it cost? macOS 10.13 will be free to download

macOS 10.13 High Sierra release date

Apple announced macOS 10.13 High Sierra at the WWDC 2017 keynote event, which came as little surprise, as it's traditional for Apple to announce the latest version of its Mac software at its annual developer event.

But, when will we be able to download and use macOS 10.13 High Sierra? If you’re really keen to try it out then you can download the macOS 10.13 High Sierra Developer Preview right now. It was only recently treated to its first update in late June, but if you don’t mind the potential corruption of your very expensive Mac computer, then we say go for it.

To do so, head over to the Apple Developer Program enrollment webpage, which will show you everything you need to sign up for the program and will then allow you to download macOS 10.13 High Sierra Developer Preview.

Bear in mind that this is early software, so we wouldn’t recommend running it on your Mac or MacBook that you rely on every day.

There will be a public beta for macOS 10.13 High Sierra later in June, which will be more stable and feature-complete. For most, we’d recommend waiting until the final version, which Apple says will release this autumn.

macOS 10.13 High Sierra features

Apple has promised a number of exciting new features with macOS 10.13 High Sierra. These include improvements to Safari – which now will thwart ad-tracking and auto-playing videos – and a more comprehensive Spotlight Search in the Mail App. 

Plus, when you’re writing emails, the app now allows split view for the compose window – and it will use up to 35% less disk space as well.

The Photos app has also been updated in macOS 10.13 High Sierra, with a better sorting tool, along with a new layout, better facial recognition thanks to neural networks, and better syncing across all Apple devices.

Editing tools have also been improved, making it easier than ever to improve your photos without knowing too much about the process. You'll even get to apply Instagram-like filters to your photos in post.

One of the biggest changes with macOS High Sierra is with the file system. It’s ditching the HFS – which Apple has used for around 30 years, and is now using the Apple File System (APFS). Every Mac that’s upgraded to macOS High Sierra will make this files system change automatically while new Macs will come pre-formatted. 

APFS, to be exact, is a 64-bit file system that supports native encryption and faster metadata operation. This may all sound a bit techy, but the bottom line is that this will make your Mac feel a lot faster, while also being more secure and more transparent about the nature of your files and folder contents.

The update will also bring HEVC, or H.265, video compression to the Mac. The firm claims that this new standard can compress video files 40% more than the previous-generation H.264 standard. The end result will be faster video streams at higher resolutions – ahem, 4K – and smaller video files sizes when stored locally.

VR finally comes to the Mac

One of the biggest bits of news surrounding macOS High Sierra is that it will finally bring support for virtual reality headsets officially. Namely, the HTC Vive and Steam VR will work with Macs running the new OS this autumn.

However, to use such a device, you'll need at least an iMac Pro or 5K iMac – or, any Mac that can run the new OS with an external graphics card box attached via Thunderbolt 3. Support for such devices will come part and parcel with macOS High Sierra. but won't be an available function until spring 2018.

macOS 10.13 High Sierra compatibility

Luckily, if you’re a developer eager to take part in the fun right now, Epic Games has released early access support for VR on Mac. Though the final version won’t come until October, with a preview slated for September, you can head on over to the Unreal Github right now (login required) and get an exclusive glimpse of the future.

Don’t expect to jack a Rift into your Mac anytime soon, though, as an Oculus spokesperson recently told Road to VR that there is “no news on macOS support at this time.” That news came just a few months after company founder Palmer Luckey said Oculus support won’t ever come to Apple’s computers unless “they ever make a good computer.”

Joe Osborne has also contributed to this report.

• These are the best Macs that you can buy right now

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Download of the day: Empty

It looks like a page torn from an IKEA catalog, but Empty is actually a smart puzzle game that presents a simple challenge: clear the room of all items.

The room is rotated using your mouse, and the goal is to line up objects against backgrounds of the same color. For example, in the image above, you would need to rotate the room until the lamp is obscured by the yellow floor. Once you'd matched an object, it disappears.

Home clearance

The first few levels are a gentle introduction, but things soon get trickier with the introduction of objects that change the color of walls, meaning you have to work through the room in a specific order.

Completing a level is very satisfying, and the game's relaxing soundtrack means even the tougher levels won't leave you frustrated.

Download here: Empty

Download of the Day is our pick of the best free software around – whether it's useful, fun, or just plain silly. If you have any recommendations, please send them to downloads@techradar.com.

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The best free YouTube video converter 2017

It's easy to spend hours watching new videos on YouTube when you have a reliable internet connection, but if you're going to be offline, you might want to save a collection of clips to watch later on your PC, tablet, games console, or smartphone. That's when you need a free YouTube converter.

The best YouTube video converters include preset profiles to take the guesswork out of choosing the optimum format, resolution, and compression settings for your device. They also let you save and convert clips in batches, and let you choose where they're saved once the download and conversion is complete.

Are YouTube converters legal?

You should only download videos when you have the copyright owner's permission to do so. YouTube's terms of service explicitly prohibit unauthorized downloading.

1. aTube Catcher

Download and save videos in the blink of an eye – the best YouTube converter

aTube Catcher is an appropriately named YouTube converter that will catch any video downloads you throw its way before converting them to your chosen format.

It supports AVI, FLV, MOV, WMV, MPG and MP4, in addition to less common formats such as PSP, which is used for Sony's handheld games console.

The installation process is speedy, and once up and running you'll be presented with a colourful Windows 10-like grid that clearly presents the available options. From there you can dive straight into aTune Catcher's video conversion utility for converting to another file format, or convert the soundtrack to an MP3 for audio playback.

Once you've chosen a format, drag in the files you want to convert and right-click Start to set them going. You can prioritize certain clips to have them converted first, or simply leave it to work on the queued files from top to bottom.

Review and where to download: aTube Catcher

2. Free YouTube to MP3 Converter

Convert videos and rip soundtracks to MP3 format for offline listening

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter is a free YouTube converter that converts videos from YouTube to other popular video formats - including WMV and AVI - in addition to audio ones formats such as MP3. The program lets you queue up multiple files for conversion and features a clean interface that clearly displays what files are waiting to be converted.

It's a particularly useful tool for musicians who may want to download guitar backing tracks to jam along to, or similarly you could grab a karaoke backing track to burn to a CD ready for that weekend party - provided you have the copyright holder's permission.

Review and where to download: Free YouTube to MP3 Converter

3. Freemake Video Converter

Freemake offers super-speedy conversion into almost any video format

Freemake Video Converter features an attractive design and supports more file formats than you can shake a USB stick at. You can convert your downloaded video into more than 200 formats – including AVI, MP4, WKV, WMV, DV, RM, QT, TS and MTS – and you can choose to rip and convert audio to MP3 if you just want the soundtrack.

Freemake claims that a few of its features are unique - including integrated CUDA and DXVA technology that apparently converts videos faster while using less CPU resources. It's certainly one of the fastest YouTube converters on our list, but its speed will ultimately depend on the power of your PC.

Review and where to download: Freemake Video Converter

4. Free Studio

Free Studio makes it easy to tune clips for playback on your chosen device

Developed by DVDVideoSoft, Free Studio comes with a massive 25 video conversion options that can convert your files automatically once they've downloaded for viewing on different devices.

It's particularly useful because it bundles multiple converters into a single program, saving you hunting for several solutions when converting to different formats.

It's a flexible YouTube converter that allows you to work with HD video file types in addition to high quality MP4 video. It also comes with an advanced screen capture tool that allows you to record a section of the screen, flip it and rotate it before saving the edited output to disk with the option of saving to another device.

Download here: Free Studio

5. YTD Video Downloader

Dropped connection mid-rip? No problem – YTD will pick it up and carry on

YTD Video Downloader can download and convert videos from some of the most popular video hosting sites, including Facebook, DailyMotion and College Humor and, of course, YouTube. It features the ability to convert videos into most popular video formats – from MP3 and MP4 to WNV, FLV, MOV, 3GP and AVI.

This YouTube downloader' makers claim that the latest version is faster and more stable than previous releases. It also has the handy feature of resuming downloads automatically if your internet connection goes down temporarily.

Review and where to download: YTD Video Downloader

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note8 will reportedly be the company’s most expensive smartphone yet

 Samsung is preparing to launch its most expensive smartphone yet this September, VentureBeat reports. Notably, this launch timeline for the Galaxy Note8 places it in the path of when the new iPhones will likely be revealed. The phone will retail for €999 according to the report, a number which will likely translate to around $900 stateside considering past pricing differentials.… Read More

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Best power user Linux distros in 2017: 5 reviewed and rated

Note: Our power user Linux distros round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in May 2013.

The Linux power user is a celebrated breed, and one that does not simply burst fully-formed from the earth. All newbies must toil long and hard with their Linux installations before they can describe themselves as one.

At the very least, the power user will have a great degree of skill concerning all things Linux, whether it's the kernel, Bash or package management systems – and they won’t be afraid to get their hands dirty in the name of configuring the system.

It seems, in many ways, that power users are a dying breed. Almost all modern Linux distributions require little effort to get up and running, or to install new software or configure basic functionality. By definition, no power user will want to run any of these distros. This is why, despite their popularity, the likes of Ubuntu and Mint are not featured here.

The Linux distributions in this feature are user-driven, not guided. This gives them much greater adaptability, as well as allowing them to perform a diverse range of tasks, from acting as a virtual jukebox at parties through to hosting complex websites. 

The development methodology and underlying package management system are still relevant concerns, but if you're driven by the desire to squeeze every ounce of power out of your Linux distro, you have the makings of a power user.

How we tested...

All of the distros in this article have been around for a long time, and we’ve revised our appraisals of them over the course of several years. Each one has earned a large amount of kudos by offering unique perks or advantages over their peers, either in terms of software management or ease of installation.

All these distros are extremely stable and so our roundup isn't so much about performance as adaptability. We're looking for things that make them ideal for experienced Linux users who are tired of newbie-oriented distros and want to do more with their Linux machines. This is possible only when you have great control over every aspect of a distro.

The ideal distro for power users is one that encourages tinkering extensively with all the different aspects of the OS, and makes you work towards your goal of a perfect system.

• 5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros
• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• 5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

• Linux Format is the number one magazine to boost your knowledge on Linux, open source developments, distro releases and much more. Subscribe to the print or digital version of Linux Format here

Test 1: Installation

How easy is the first step?

These distros may be aimed at power users, but that doesn't mean you want to tear your hair out during the installation process, however much street cred you may stand to gain later on. It's not a question of how long it takes to install but rather how complicated the process is.

Slackware is one of our favourite distros, and its ncurses-based installer is very easy to navigate despite being very different. You may want to keep a copy of the Slackware book with you, naturally on a separate device.

Setup takes you through several installation steps including package selection. Pay special attention to the prompting mode and the software series. You can either install everything by selecting Full on the prompting mode, or select individual packages by choosing the Menu option.

You then have to select which software series to install. If you choose individual packages, the installer will not tell you how much space it will need – this is unlikely to be a problem on modern hard drives, but it’s still something to consider. Slackware gets a bad reputation because it doesn't offer a graphical installer, but it's still a very straightforward process. 

Fedora and Debian both provide a graphical installation method more akin to those of mainstream consumer distros. The process is very simple, and several tasks – such as the partitioning of disks – can be automated, but it's best if you at least review the partitioning scheme or do it yourself, especially if there are existing partitions on the disk that you would like to preserve. Neither distro lets you select the packages to install when installing from the Live CD.

Arch is one of the easiest distros to install, although it's far from the most straightforward to get running since it doesn't provide a usable system post-installation. The most difficult step is network card configuration. If you're unable to configure your wireless card, you can run an Ethernet cable to your machine until the installation is done, and then try to configure the card later.

Once the base Arch system is installed, you move on to weightier things, such as installing the X window system, video drivers, if necessary, and the desktop environment. Even after that’s done, you still have to install all the apps you may want to use, such as Firefox, VLC, LibreOffice and others. This is complex, but at least the installation makes no assumptions about the way you're going to want to use your system, allowing you to configure it exactly as you wish.

Installing Gentoo is far more tedious than the other distros, because it makes even fewer assumptions: Gentoo is all about building itself specifically to your hardware, and to your precise needs and wants. As such, it makes you do everything from defining USE flags to compiling the kernel, so be prepared for the installation to run to several days, depending on your configuration and needs. Be sure to keep the installation documentation to hand when you begin.

Verdict

Slackware: 4/5
Fedora: 5/5
Debian: 5/5
Arch: 5/5
Gentoo: 4/5

Test 2: Default packages

Not that a power user cares anyway…

An operating system is fundamentally an organised collection of a user's preferred applications. As such Gentoo or Arch aren't operating systems in the strictest sense because installing these distros leaves you with a barebones system which you must then populate with apps and a desktop environment.

There are no defaults when working with Gentoo or Arch. Their intention is to give the user complete control over what they wish to install on the machine. While the other three distros in this roundup also allow you to select which packages to install during setup, they still aim to provide you with a near complete system out of the box, offering a text editor, web browser, PDF reader and more.

For these three distros, despite the wide array of default packages, you still need to install codecs and other plugins before you can play media files, or enjoy videos on YouTube, or even get the most out of your proprietary graphics card.

Slackware offers the Calligra office suite, while Fedora and Debian both ship with LibreOffice. You can also choose which desktop environment to install with Fedora, depending on the installation media you use – just check out the Fedora Spins project.

With Slackware, you only get the choice of KDE and Xfce during installation. Gnome or Mate fans will have to install their favourite environment post-installation.

Verdict

Slackware: 4/5
Fedora: 5/5
Debian: 5/5
Arch: 1/5
Gentoo: 1/5

Test 3: Adaptability

How easy is it to configure these distros to your liking?

One of the best things about these distros is that they are highly configurable. You can change the desktop background, the icons theme, define keyboard shortcuts, configure power management, and make many other changes to the appearance and behaviour of all Linux distros though, so what's the big deal?

Well, aesthetic configuration is only a small part of the overall picture. While many other distros stop at providing all the functionality listed above, the distros we’re examining here go further, offering users the chance to make not just cosmetic changes but configure just about everything that can be configured. This gives you the chance to tweak everything to your specific needs, including the kernel. 

This is in marked contrast to distros where you go through installation, then you have to remove packages and settings you don't want, which will never deliver as good (or streamlined) a system as one built from scratch to your specifications.

Gentoo

Gentoo is an extremely configurable distro that you can optimise for just about any purpose. The advanced Portage package management system is at the heart of everything that's great about Gentoo. It delivers pinpoint control when installing packages, and the USE flags enable it to provide compile-time option support. This means you can define the precise features you want a package to support.

For instance, if you don't need the KDE desktop for installed packages, Gentoo compiles them without support for KDE. This trims them down and avoids unnecessary processing. Defining the USE flags is an integral part of installation.

As it doesn't burden you with unwanted apps or libraries, Gentoo is very fast. It insists you inspect the kernel during installation and remove features you don't need. No other distro lets you do this. 

Verdict: 5/5

Fedora

Fedora is the test-bed of tools and technologies that eventually end up in Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It’s an ideal distro for those wanting to be on the bleeding-edge of development.

One of the worst things about Fedora is the default graphical frontend to its package manager, Yum. Try Yumex if you want a stable and feature-rich alternative. That said, while Slackware, Gentoo and Arch force you to the command line for many configuration tasks, Fedora offers excellent graphical tools for things like configuring the network, firewall, and so on. It's perfect for all kinds of users, and can easily be configured to be a game station, music streamer or even a web server.

Fedora is best suited for developers and admins because of the tools it has to offer, but it’s not nearly as flexible as Gentoo, Arch or Slackware.

Verdict: 3/5

Slackware

Whereas most distros make several changes to software packages, with Slackware you get packages nearly identical to upstream offerings. People complain of a steep learning curve, but anyone familiar with the command line and classic Unix tools will find it straightforward.

Slackware strives to produce the most Unix-like distro available and makes ease of use and stability the top priorities. This makes it ideal for servers. Slackware comes with KDE by default, but can use Xfce or any desktop environment supporting any window manager. It gives great control over shaping the system during installation, thanks to its advanced package selection.

Slackware is free and open source software. However, it doesn't follow an open development methodology, which means there's no official, public software repository nor a bug tracking facility.

Verdict: 4/5

Debian

Debian is extremely stable, and this makes it ideal for servers. Its stability rests on the fact that the OS ships older packages, which can make it unsuitable for desktop users. 

That said, you can easily use the unstable repository if you want to be on the bleeding-edge. In fact, each of the three official Debian repositories have inspired several other distros. With Debian, you can run the same distro across many different architectures, as it supports i386, SPARC, AMD64, PowerPC, MIPS, ARM and other platforms.

Almost all software packages provide binaries for Debian, so you're unlikely to have any installation woes.

Verdict: 4/5

Arch

Arch doesn't believe in hiding the internal workings of the system. Like Gentoo, it's great if you wish to learn what makes a Linux distro tick. But despite their similarities, Arch provides a somewhat simpler way of building your system. You don't have to spend precious hours maintaining and grooming the system, as you do with Gentoo.

With its minimalistic philosophy, Arch stands in contrast to most other distros that compete to be the most feature-rich and beautiful. Other than a core system, which enables you to install additional packages, Arch makes no assumption about the kind of system you want, and allows users to mould the distro.

Building the distro from the ground-up results in a much speedier system. Like Slackware, Arch provides software packages from upstream without any modifications.

Verdict: 5/5

Test 4: Release schedule

Not that a power user cares anyway, part two

There are three popular development methodologies to which Linux distributions typically adhere – fixed schedule, fixed feature and rolling release. The fixed schedule, as followed by Fedora, involves pushing out a new release every six months. Debian deploys a new major release roughly every two years.

These distros, more often than not, are drastically different from one another. Switching from one release to the next thus involves a fresh install, or at least a major upgrade. This is more time-consuming and painstaking than a rolling release.

Next, we have the feature release model, as followed by Slackware. Here, instead of announcing a date for the next release, the distro is released when it's good and ready. The project decides on a number of features it wishes to implement in the next release and works towards incorporating all of these into this version. The new distribution is only released when all of these features have been added. The current version – 14.2 – was released in mid-2016 after a three year hiatus.

Finally we have the rolling release cycle. This practice is followed by Arch and Gentoo. These distros, instead of a full-sized release, offer a small, minimal distro that you can use to install the base system. You then install the latest updates of everything else that you need over the internet. With the very involved installation procedures that these distros require, the rolling release offers an install-and-forget way of working. This is a feature that you can't possibly dislike.

Verdict

Slackware: 4/5
Fedora: 3/5
Debian: 3/5
Arch: 5/5
Gentoo: 5/5

Test 5: Documentation

Because even a power user may need to RTFM

From installation, to desktop environment, to package management, Linux distros can sometimes change the status quo without warning. When this happens, the project's documentation and a helpful community can make the difference between a fatal kernel panic and a smooth-running system.

Thankfully, all the distros in this roundup boast a large repository of helpful documentation. Some, like Debian and Fedora, have been the subject of detailed books which describe setting them up for home use or as servers. As both distros are so popular, you can also usually find the answers you need online using a search engine. 

Gentoo and Arch, as you might expect given their relative complexity, offer the most extensive documentation. This tends to detail even the most basic of technologies, such as configuring the Ethernet interface or the Xinitrc and fstab files. This is especially needed for such distros because of their different way of doing things. Familiarity with any Linux distro can prepare you for just about all others, but Gentoo and Arch are so different that without proper documentation, even a seasoned Linux user might lose his or her footing.

All the distros are blessed with active communities, which you can engage with via mailing lists, forum boards and IRC. Additionally, on their websites, Slackware and Debian provide a list of companies/individual consultants you can contact for technical support.

Verdict

Slackware: 4/5
Fedora: 4/5
Debian: 4/5
Arch: 5/5
Gentoo: 5/5

Test 6: Package management

Tools, repositories and happy customers

On Arch, you can use the Pacman package manager to install applications. Pacman uses compressed files, or tarballs, as a package format. It works by syncing the local packages with the server. Pacman supports dependency resolution and can download and install packages with a single command. The /etc/pacman.conf file contains a list of repositories.

In addition to the built-in repository, there's also the Arch User Repository (AUR), which is driven and maintained by Arch users. Users can vote on the packages in the AUR. If a package gets enough votes and has a compatible licence, its pushed into the official repositories.

Like Arch, Gentoo doesn't provide any default packages, but makes installing apps a breeze thanks to Portage, which is frequently identified as one of the best package management systems on Linux.

Emerge is a command line interface to the Portage system and, as with Pacman, you can use it to install, remove, upgrade and query packages. That said, you may have to do some fiddling, adjusting the USE flags or using package.mask before you can install packages. This is a tedious process, especially for beginners. The reliance on USE flags to define what packages you want or don't want on your machine gives Gentoo an edge over the others in terms of speed. The package management systems on other distros also seem to be slower than Portage.

Fedora is the home of the yum package manager. It offers several graphical frontends for you to manage packages, none of which are quite as good as the available third-party solutions. Yum relies on the rpm package format, which is fairly similar across Red Hat distros. This allows you to tap into many different third-party repositories. You will have to configure these repositories if you wish to install multimedia codecs and plugins, as a stock Fedora installation doesn't play many media file formats.

Debian's package management systems, APT and dpkg, need no introduction. Both of these are like Clint Eastwood – they continue to deliver outstanding performances year after year. Debian allows you to configure several other repositories, such as non-free and contrib, which contain packages that don't gel with the very strict Debian Free Software Guidelines. As with Pacman and yum, you can use APT to install local packages and use the repositories to resolve dependencies.

Unlike the other distros, Slackware doesn't offer a single full-featured tool for package management. Instead, you have a separate tool to install, update and remove packages. As Slackware uses source tarballs as packages, there's also a tool to convert rpm packages to tar.gz packages.

If you're willing to sacrifice a few features, you can use the pkgtool utility to manage packages. This tool allows you to install and remove packages only.

Verdict

Slackware: 2/5
Fedora: 4/5
Debian: 4/5
Arch: 5/5
Gentoo: 5/5

Test 7: Fun quotient

Let's put a smile on that face

Our whole reason for the selection of these distros is that they offer a chance for Linux users to go over and beyond what they are normally used to doing. There’s a lot of mucking about with files such as /etc/fstab, setting up hostnames and configuring network interfaces with Arch and Gentoo. This is all done using command lines tools, too!

These are generally processes that almost all Linux distros outgrew by the time we entered the 21st century. Their insistence on doing some things the old-fashioned way is not what makes them special, rather, it's the fact that this gives you the chance to learn the many things that modern distros take for granted.

Fedora has a lot to offer if you're interested in being at the bleeding-edge of Linux development. If you've never ventured beyond newbie-friendly distros, such as Ubuntu and Mint, it provides the perfect starting point on your way to achieving power user status. 

Slackware and Debian are for more seasoned Linux users, who are willing to move towards more difficult things but still want enough familiarity to continue their learning. These distros give you the choice of working with the command line, as opposed to the graphical interface, for any number of routine tasks.

Finally, we have Arch and Gentoo. These are for adventurous souls who are ready to learn a completely different way of working. Both operating systems will introduce you to the core of Linux in a way no other distro will. Forget graphical interfaces which obfuscate configuration files – with these two distros, you are forced to spend time with files you probably didn't know existed!

Verdict

Slackware: 4/5
Fedora: 3/5
Debian: 3/5
Arch: 5/5
Gentoo: 5/5

The verdict

The only area where Gentoo and Arch falter is with their default packages or lack thereof. We spent a lot of time debating whether we should award them five stars each. This is because by not providing any default packages they offer you much greater control and the ability to design a distro specifically for your particular needs. This degree of control is the hallmark of a distro suited to power users.

As we deducted points from both distros for this reason, we had to be equally harsh when scoring other distros in the documentation and package management sections.

This is why Debian and Fedora only managed four stars each in these two sections, despite offering detailed documentation and excellent package management tools. Even though we couldn't find any fault in APT or yum, Arch's Pacman and Gentoo's Portage system fare better because of their level of sophistication and elegance.

Debian and Slackware are an ideal starting point for would-be power users, and give you an idea of how configurable and flexible Linux systems can be.

Arch versus Gentoo

We were tempted to award first place to Arch because it's easier to install and doesn't require management of USE flags before installing packages. But the real test here is the level of control the distros offer to help you mould the system to your exact specifications.

Gentoo offers extremely fine control. It allows you to fine-tune the kernel during installation, so that you can remove the features you don't want. You don't get much more configurable than that. 

The USE flags which let you prepare the system for all the packages you wish to install (or not) are a really novel feature. They allow you to specify the options and features with which Portage installs packages. This helps you cut down dependencies, package size, and compile results in a faster and leaner system. This is why Gentoo is so much faster in comparison to the other distros.

Final ranking

1st: Gentoo: 5/5

2nd: Arch: 5/5

3rd: Slackware: 4/5

4th: Debian: 4/5

5th: Fedora: 3/5

Also consider...

KDE has long been a favourite with power users because of all the configuration options it offers. By extension, all distros using KDE can be modified in the same way, so are suitable for power users. You can try the likes of OpenSUSE or Chakra Linux to get a taste of KDE's flexibility. These are both built around KDE itself, as opposed to the KDE-based spins of other popular distros you might come across.

We've tried to limit our selection to distros that not only allow you greater control in configuring the system, but are also fun to use. The distros in our list are different from all other modern Linux distros in almost all respects, be it installation or package management. Also, they are great for familiarising yourself with the internal workings of Linux, and teaching you things that you wouldn't be aware of if you used other distros.

For this reason, it's difficult to recommend any other distro. If you've already mastered Gentoo and Arch, or are ready for even more of a challenge, you can try Linux From Scratch. LFS is the name of both a book and installation and as the name suggests, it shows you how to build your own Linux system entirely from source code. Unlike Gentoo and Arch, which at least provide a working base system, with LFS you have to do all the work by yourself.

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Windows 10 code leak raises serious security concerns

Parts of the source code for Windows 10 have been leaked online, and although the spillage isn’t as serious as first thought, the incident still represents a major security worry – both for users and for Microsoft.

This saga developed over the weekend, and began with a report from The Register which claimed that ‘massive’ chunks of Windows 10’s source code – the nuts and bolts of the operating system’s programming – along with unreleased internal builds of the desktop OS had been dumped online: some 32TB of the stuff.

However, Microsoft later confirmed the leak to The Verge, but asserted that it was a relatively minor affair, and that most of the aforementioned 32TB of data had already been available online for quite some time (months, or even years).

Microsoft issued a statement to say: “Our review confirms that these files are actually a portion of the source code from the Shared Source Initiative and is used by OEMs and partners.”

Microsoft’s claim is that the leaked material actually amounted to 1.2GB of source code, which was posted to the Beta Archive website. These files reportedly relate to the USB, storage and Wi-Fi drivers of Windows 10.

As the firm stated above, Microsoft already shares the source code with third-party partners as part of the Shared Source Initiative – and while this might be ‘minor’ compared to the initial claimed huge avalanche of leaked data and whole internal builds, it’s still a worrying situation for Windows 10 users.

Malware mayhem

That’s because malicious types out there could still potentially make use of this material to craft exploits targeted at Windows 10 users, obviously a less-than-ideal situation for Microsoft which is pushing its newest OS hard as the most secure version of Windows ever.

The code has now been removed from Beta Archive, with the website making the decision to do so voluntarily. But the damage may have already been done in terms of who may have downloaded the material before it was taken down.

This incident could possibly be connected to the arrest of two men in the UK which is part of a probe into somebody gaining access to Microsoft’s internal network, one of whom is allegedly connected to the Beta Archive site, but it’s not clear yet if that is the case. If there are any further announcements from Microsoft on the matter, we’ll update this story.

• Maybe now’s the time to get yourself a good antivirus app

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Top 10 best Linux apps of 2017

While everyone knows that most Linux distributions (distros) are free to download, not everybody is aware that you also have access to thousands of cost-free applications through your operating system’s package manager. 

Many of the more user-friendly distros will come with a selection of software preinstalled to help you get started, but there are many more apps out in the wild, under continuous development. 

In this guide we'll highlight 10 of the best desktop applications for Linux. All of these programs can be installed either via the command line or by using a graphical frontend to your package manager.

• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

While some Linux distros like Ubuntu come with their own flashy app stores, none are as quick and easy to use as Synaptic, which simply serves as a graphical frontend for the 'apt-get' command line utility. You can install it on any Debian-based Linux distro such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

Browse categories of apps such as 'Games and Amusement' using the pane on the left-hand side. Click the box next to an app name to mark it for installation (or uninstallation) then click the Apply button at the top to affect your changes. All the programs covered in this feature can be installed via Synaptic.

• You can download Synaptic here

VLC is most commonly known for being a media player, although it does much more. When installed, it downloads codecs for virtually every kind of audio or video file, meaning you're unlikely to ever have playback issues again. The software can also play DVDs. 

You can use VLC to clip video files and even convert them from one format to another – from AVI to MP4, for example. The media player client can also act as a server, allowing you to stream media from one device to another (see our guide on this here).

• You can download VLC Media Player here

Firefox is the default web browser for a number of Linux distros such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint. The browser’s simple and fluid interface is one of its many attractions. Firefox will play YouTube videos right off the bat, and can download plugins to play other formats for you. The browser also updates itself from the get-go, meaning you always have the latest version.

Firefox supports a number of extensions to enhance your web experience, and you can customise the browser further via the Mozilla add-ons page, where it is possible to install a colourful theme.

• You can download Mozilla Firefox here

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free image editor. It can be used to edit and retouch images by resizing, adding layers and other special effects. You can access these via the handy toolbox or dropdown menus. See our guide on how to use GIMP here. The GIMP website itself also has a great selection of tutorials. 

GIMP's interface does take some getting used to if you're accustomed to Adobe Photoshop, but it can do almost everything professional image editors are capable of. You can even add some Photoshop plugins to GIMP.

By default the program takes up less than 100MB of space, which is another considerable benefit, particularly for those short on storage.

• You can download GIMP here

While many Linux distributions already come with a BitTorrent client, Deluge stands out as a lightweight yet fully-featured app for downloading your files.

The interface is extremely easy to master and can be enhanced by a number of excellent community supported plugins which do things such as shut down your machine when a download completes.

You can even set up Deluge so that it can be accessed via a web interface from other devices, allowing you to download files to your home computer when you're away.

• You can download Deluge here

Thunderbird is a free and powerful email client. The setup wizard guides you gently through the process of either creating a new email address or setting up your existing one. Mozilla's database contains email settings for all common providers, and you can add as many email accounts as you wish. 

Like Firefox, Thunderbird can be enhanced by add-ons, such as themes to make it more colourful, or better ways to sort your Mail folders. The most useful of these is undoubtedly the Lightning extension which adds a fully functioning Calendar to the email client. We’ve got an in-depth review of Thunderbird right here.

• You can download Mozilla Thunderbird here

LibreOffice is nothing less than a full-blown office suite, on a par with commercial alternatives like Microsoft Office. While the interface may look rather basic, this product has some extremely advanced features.

The LibreOffice word processor Writer, spreadsheet software Calc and presentation app Impress are preinstalled in Ubuntu and most of its derivatives. The suite also includes three less well-known apps – Draw, Math and Base – which are used for editing vector graphics, composing mathematical formulae and managing databases respectively. 

While LibreOffice uses the ODF (Open Document Format) by default it can open and save Microsoft Office compatible files too. Read our full review of LibreOffice here.

• You can download LibreOffice here

Pidgin is an instant messaging program which allows you to connect to multiple chat networks at once. At the time of writing these include AIM, Bonjour, IRC and Google Talk to name but a few. Sadly Facebook chat is no longer available since the social network dropped support for the open XMPP messaging protocol.

Pidgin can be enhanced by installing third-party plugins. Some of these allow you to connect to other chat networks such as Skype, while others can be used to protect your conversations, for example the OTR (Off the Record) messaging plugin.

• You can download Pidgin here

Although Linux machines can't be affected by viruses designed to infect Windows, your PC can accidentally forward harmful files to other computers, for example in an email attachment. And these days, there are even some incidences of malware aimed at Linux systems.

The antivirus scanner ClamAV provides some peace of mind, as it can detect many types of malware. It's often used on mail servers but will run happily on your desktop system if you want to scan files or folders.

By default ClamAV can only be used from the command line, but you can use Synaptic to install 'clamtk' and 'clamtk-nautilus' to allow you to scan your system and individual files with a few clicks of your mouse.

• You can download ClamAV here and ClamTk here

Audacity is an editing program which allows you to record and tinker with audio. Not only can Audacity record audio simultaneously from various inputs (for example, a USB microphone), it can also trim and edit clips. Furthermore, it supports multiple tracks, allowing you, for instance, to record lyrics and backing music separately.

The software also supports a number of audio effects such as noise reduction, as detailed in its extremely comprehensive manual which is both bundled with Audacity and available online. Audacity also supports VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins. Tracks can be exported in a number of popular sound formats such as WAV, OGG and MP3. If you want to know more about Audacity, then have a read of our full review here.

• You can download Audacity here

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Crunch Report | Google To Stop Scanning Inboxes

 Today’s Stories  Google now has all the data it needs, will stop scanning Gmail inboxes for ad personalization Samsung’s Galaxy Note8 will reportedly be the company’s most expensive smartphone yet YouTube TV expands to 10 more U.S. markets, adds more YouTube Red series Tesla said to be in talks to create its own streaming music service Credits Written and Hosted by:… Read More

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Windows 10 S release date, news and features

Microsoft officially pulled off the curtain on its oft-leaked and already-tested lightweight version of Windows 10 on May 2. Originally expected to be called Windows 10 Cloud, it is instead simply named Windows 10 S. 

The company issued invites to the press early that month, and TechRadar was in attendance to provide the latest news and impressions from its New York City briefing.

Since its release, we've learned a few more details regarding Windows 10 S that Microsoft didn't exactly wave and scream about during its reveal of the operating system (OS).

Cut to the chase

• What is it? A new, lightweight version of Windows 10
• When is it out? Available now
• What will it cost? Free to all schools using Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 S release date

Windows 10 S debuted on May 2, with devices using the OS available on the same day. Microsoft’s event invitation itself was titled “#MicrosoftEDU”, making no misgivings about its aims with the new OS.

However, to be clear, Windows 10 S is not for individual sale, but rather will be found on new devices issued to IT administrators in education as well as those on shelves. It’s no coincidence that Windows 10 S is focused on the education sector, where Google’s Chromebooks are currently ruling the roost.

With an event name like that, it would have made sense for Microsoft to make Windows 10 S available at the start of the 2017 school season, but we'll take an earlier launch no problem.

Windows 10 S price

Windows 10 S doesn’t cost a dime. Well, not to schools sporting Windows 10 Pro already, that is. The cost of the OS is, more than likely, being subsidized by hardware makers in its pricing albeit for far less than Windows 10 proper if not for free.

As Windows 10 S is competing directly with Chrome OS, Google’s operating system for its Chromebook platform, it makes sense to use the same business model. Google doesn’t sell that OS individually for customers to install on machines themselves. As such, Microsoft seems to have followed suit.

In short, you won’t be paying for Windows 10 S so as much as you’ll pay for the hardware running it (with whatever Microsoft’s charging its partners, if anything, to license the software baked in that price somehow, too). 

Save for the new Surface Laptop, the laptops running Windows 10 S start at $189 (about £146, AU$251) and cap out at $299 (about £239, AU$396). Premium category laptops will also be joining the Windows 10 S family, though no pricing information on those has been confirmed at this time.

What is Windows 10 S?

As we said, Windows 10 S is a more lightweight, pared down version of Windows 10. Specifically, the OS can only support apps downloaded from Microsoft’s Windows Store and those already baked into the OS.

In fact, Windows 10 S users won't even have the choice of which browser or search engine they use, with Edge and Bing being the only options, respectively. But hey, at least converted Apple users can take solace in the fact that their Spotify music libraries can now be accessed through the Windows Store.

This talk of a version of Windows that can only download Microsoft-approved apps is familiar, isn’t it? Microsoft believes it has mastered this approach since the turbulent days of Windows RT and Windows 8 with Bing – both of which tried to position Microsoft as the sole provider of apps through curation.

The good news is that this allows for a startup time of under 5 seconds as opposed to the 30 - 40 second startup time of Windows 10 Pro. Not only that, but configuring settings (such as Wi-Fi, webcam, etc.) across an entire classroom of students is as easy as inserting a USB stick in each of their laptops.

Being in competition with Google’s Chrome OS, Microsoft has of course positioned Windows 10 S as a more secure PC operating system. Already though, ZDNet found a hacker able to break into Windows 10 S’ security in under three hours using infected macro-based Word documents. Still, Windows 10 S proved to be a much tougher egg to crack than vanilla Windows.

Should you find a must-have app that isn't available in the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 S you can switch from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro – i.e. the Windows 10 we know that can install any app – for a fee. It's $49 for individuals, a fee that's waived for Windows 10 S devices sold to schools.

Better yet, Microsoft more recently made it possible for Windows 10 Pro upgraders to make the move back down to Windows 10 S. So if you change your mind after installing Windows 10 Pro on that shiny new Surface Laptop, you can rest easy knowing that you aren’t tied to your decision one way or the other.

That said, what can you expect to see included in laptops and/or tablets running Windows 10 S? Well, the Edge browser, OneNote and Windows Ink are all givens. The standard Movies and Groove Music apps, as well as niceties like Maps and Mail and Calendar are shoo-ins, too. (Oh, and Cortana!)

Windows 10 S even still features File Explorer, and although many of the laptops that come with the lightweight OS pre-installed may ship with smaller capacity SSDs, Microsoft’s forthcoming introduction of OneDrive Files On-Demand will make it so files can be stored in the cloud, but still viewed the same way as locally stored content – File Explorer UI and all.

• Now, will Microsoft shock us all with the Surface Pro 5?

Gabe Carey has also contributed to this article

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WhatsApp file sharing could soon work with anything

WhatsApp already allows users to send a range of file types with each other without any fuss, but it appears that soon all file types will be supported on the mega-popular messaging service.

A test is currently undergoing with a small set of users for an update that adds the ability to send any kind of file between users on WhatsApp, according to Android Central.

That means that files outside of the currently supported types — which include .TXT, .CSV, .PDF, and even Microsoft Office files like .PPT and .DOCX — may soon be added to WhatsApp, making the messaging service even more useful for productivity and sharing.

That said, there are some limits. The file size cap for WhatsApp's new feature is supposedly no more than 128MB for iOS and 100MB for Android. 

While still a fairly decent ceiling for transferring data over mobile devices, don't expect to be sending out multiple gigs of raw photo or video anytime soon.

According to reports from WEBetaInfo, the feature is rolling out very slowly, meaning that it could take a while before all billion-plus WhatsApp users get their hands on new file-sharing capabilities. In the meantime, feel free to spam .GIFs to your friends with WhatsApp's recently added Giphy search feature.

• The 10 best secure messaging apps out now

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Instagram 'Favorites' may be a new feature for private picture sharing

Though Instagram is a number-one destination for sharing your latest pictures with the world, there are times when you prefer to not give your latest pic to a massive audience of strangers.

To that end, Instagram is testing out a "Favorites" feature allowing users to share pictures that are only visible to a smaller, pre-selected group of followers, according to The Verge.

Previously, Instagram users would get around separating fully public posts from friends-only posts by simply operating two separate accounts — one of which could be seen only to approved followers. 

With this new feature, Instagram hopes to do away with the need for a second private account, giving users expanded options over who all can see their latest snap. 

Fav photos

Once launched, you won't know if you're on a friend's special list unless you see one of their select posts at the top of your feed, indicated by a green Favorites badge.

Of course, Instagram isn't the first social media network to instill a similar "inner circle" for posts. Facebook, which owns Instagram, offers multiple controls that edit who can see what you post — be it an image, link, or status.

Snapchat, which closer competes with Instagram's photo-sharing antics, allows you to choose individual recipients for each picture you take (which then disappears after viewing) since day one.

Instagram is reportedly testing out Favorites with a small number of users with plans to roll it out widely over the coming months. In the meantime, feel free to consult our guide to making the most out of the filter-focused photography app.

• The story behind the original Instagram filters

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The best free ebook reader 2017

Ebooks are a great way to enjoy literature – they’re cheaper than print books due to the lack of print and distribution costs (and completely free if the work is in the public domain), and you start reading seconds after buying one.

You don’t need a specialist device like a Kindle either thanks to free ebook readers for Windows. These are particularly good for students who want to reference texts in their work, add annotations, or refer to online resources.

So what makes a good ebook reader? For general use, a clear layout and the ability to sync your bookshelf across multiple devices are essential; for students, note-taking and bookmarks are essential; and for anyone who sometimes struggles with their eyesight, text-to-speech and one-click font customization are welcome additions.

If you like the look of a particular ebook reader but your ebooks aren’t in a supported format, Epubor Ultimate Ebook Converter can change all the most common file types.

1. Kindle for PC

Whether you use Amazon or not, Kindle for PC is the best free ebook reader

Amazon’s official Kindle app for Windows, Mac and mobile devices is smart and stylish, and although it tempts you with reading suggestions from the Kindle store, the sales pitch isn’t too in-your-face.

There’s no setup necessary if you already have an Amazon account. Just log in with your usual username and password and your virtual shelves will be populated automatically (though you’ll have to click a book’s cover to download it, so bear this in mind if you’re planning some offline reading). Notes and bookmarks are synced across devices automatically, as are flashcards – an extremely useful addition for students using digital textbooks for revision.

Kindle for Windows also includes text-to-speech function, and changing font sizes and color schemes is as simple as clicking or tapping a button.

Download here: Kindle

2. Freda

Premium features completely free – Freda is a real rival to Amazon’s crown

Freda (from the delightfully-named Turnipsoft) is a superb ebook reader that integrates with Project Gutenberg, giving you access to thousands of free ebooks, and Smashwords, where you can find works from independent authors and publishers. Importing your own ebooks is a piece of cake too, with support for all the most popular formats. You can even connect Freda to your Dropbox account enabling you to access books from multiple devices.

Freda supports bookmarks, annotations and highlighting, making it a good choice for students. There’s also text-to-speech for anyone who has trouble with text on screens, as well as auto-scroll and speed-read – a tool that works much like Spritz, displaying words in quick succession so you can read without moving your eyes. 

Freda is funded by ads, but these are discreet and are only visible on the bookshelf screen; they won’t interrupt your reading.

Download here: Freda

3. Calibre

An open source ebook reader that’s a great choice for students

Calibre is an open source ebook reader and manager that’s lightweight and lightning-fast. Unlike many free ebook readers, Calibre supports Amazon’s AWZ format (though it won’t open DRM-protected files) as well as all the other popular ebook file types, and if any metadata is missing (such as genre or cover art), you can add it yourself using the bookshelf’s options menu.

One of Calibre’s best features is Reference Mode, which displays the current chapter and paragraph number in the top left – ideal if you need to cite references in an essay. We also like Flow Mode, where text is shown as a continuous scrolling stream without page breaks; not as pleasant as simulated page-turning for recreational reading, but a handy time-saver to avoid flicking backwards and forwards through a textbook. 

Review and where to download: Calibre

4. Sumatra PDF

A quirky PDF, ebook and comic reader that's ideal if you use multiple PCs

Despite its name, Sumatra PDF is a great little ebook reader, capable of displaying books in EPUB and MOBI format, as well as comic books in CBZ and CBR comic books.

Sumatra PDF is a portable app, so you can save it to a USB stick or cloud storage service and use it on any PC. You can save your ebooks in the same place too, eliminating the need to sync your library.

It’s easy to adjust basic settings like font size, but Sumatra PDF’s advanced options can only be edited by opening a text file and typing in new values. If you want to change the page color, for example, you’ll need to find the hex code for your preferred shade and enter it on the appropriate line. It’s not difficult, but we’d prefer a graphical interface.

There’s no way to add notes or highlights, but the convenience of carrying your ebook library and reader anywhere might outweigh those drawbacks for you.

Review and where to download: Sumatra PDF

5. Icecream Ebook Reader

A stylish free ebook reader, but lacking advanced features

Icecream specializes in smart, no-frills software, and Icecream Ebook Reader is no exception. It supports EPUB, MOBI, PDF and FB2 ebook formats, and once you’ve imported your books they’re arranged in a neat bookshelf with a choice of viewing options. One particularly handy feature is the ability to archive and export your ebooks; ideal if you use more than one PC and don’t want the hassle of importing your books twice. There’s no cloud syncing though.

The reader itself is similar to the Kindle app in appearance, with one-click (or tap) buttons for changing font size, color theme (day, night, or sepia), and viewing the table of contents.

Unfortunately, some of the options you can see in the menus are only available if you hand over US$19.95 (about £15, AU$25) for the Pro version. Premium features include importing multiple ebooks simultaneously, adding notes, editing metadata, and copying text.

The free version of Icecream Ebook Reader is quick and very easy to use, but only really suitable for recreational reading. Students will find the lack of note-taking and copying frustrating.

Review and where to download: Icecream Ebook Reader

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The best free alternative to Windows Movie Maker 2017

The best free torrent client 2017

Torrents are a brilliant way to download large files like movies, games, and TV shows. They turn your computer into part of a swarm where data is shared as it's downloaded, so while you're downloading something from other people you're also helping others download the bits you've already got. The result is a very reliable and often very fast way to get your hands on huge files.

Torrents have gathered a bad reputation due to piracy, but they have lots of legitimate uses. Not only can you use them to download free media and software legally, artists and filmmakers have now begin to use them as a platform to distribute their work

Torrent files are incredibly useful, but to use them, you need the right software. Here are the best free torrent clients around.

1. qBittorrent

A balance of features, speed and simplicity – the best free torrent client

Some torrent clients offer every conceivable function. Others keep things as simple as possible. qBittorrent sits right in the middle, aiming to "meet the needs of most users while using as little CPU and memory as possible".

It boasts an integrated torrent search engine, media player, encryption, prioritisation of torrents and the files within those torrents, IP filtering and torrent creation, and it's the closest open source, junk-free equivalent to uTorrent.

If you're looking for a cross-platform torrent client that covers the essentials without getting overly complicated, qBittorrent is great.

Review and where to download: qBittorrent

2. Deluge

A highly customizable torrent client that can be as lean or powerful as you like

Deluge has been around forever, and it can be as simple or as powerful as you want it to be. That's because it's extendable via plug-ins, which effectively enable you to build your own personalised version of Deluge.

Fancy something that resembles uTorrent without the unwanted software? No problem. Want to add alphabetical downloading, move downloaded files to specific directories according to the file type, adjust speed according to network conditions, create pretty graphs, schedule everything, integrate with Chrome or Firefox, or batch-rename downloads? That's not a problem either.

Download here: Deluge

3. Transmission

Remarkably fast and lightweight – our go-to client for use on a Mac

We like Transmission (for Mac and Linux – read on for the Windows alternative) a lot. It's donationware rather than adware, so there aren't any bundled toolbars, invasive ads or greyed-out features that you need to pay to access.

It's blazingly fast and with a tiny footprint, and while there are lots and lots of options for power users - speed limits, webseed support, magnet links, port forwarding, encryption and many, many more - it's simple enough for absolute beginners too. On a Mac, Transmission is our go-to torrent client.

Download here: Transmission

4. Transmission-Qt Win

A Windows port of the excellent Transmission client that's great for modestly sized torrents

Don't be sad, Windows people! Transmission might not be available for your Windows PC, but that hasn't stopped some nice people from making a Windows port of it: Transmission-Qt Win, aka Transmission-Qt for Windows. It delivers all the features of the Mac/Linux Transmission app, and it's worth installing if you like a simple torrent app that still includes a decent selection of features.

It isn't perfect, though: known issues include poor performance on really big torrents (terabytes rather than gigabytes, so not a problem for most of us) and a memory leak if it's left running for very long periods.

Download here: Transmission-Qt Win

5. uTorrent

An amazingly lightweight torrent client maintained by BitTorrent itself

uTorrent, also known as µTorrent, has been around since 2005 and it's the most widely used free torrent client outside China. It's attracted some criticism over the years, however: it's ad-supported and many users argue that the most recent versions are a little too heavy on the advertising and bundled software front. Make sure you read each step of the installer carefully and uncheck any software you don't want to install.

That aside, uTorrent is useful, effective and doesn't gobble up too much of your system's resources: the entire app is smaller than a digital photo. Although it isn't the official BitTorrent app, it's been maintained by BitTorrent for the last decade.

Review and where to download: uTorrent

6. BitTorrent

BitTorrent's own client with web-based seeding, comments and reviewing

You might be wondering why BitTorrent has its own BitTorrent client when it also maintains uTorrent (above), especially when the BitTorrent app is a rebranded version of uTorrent.

However, while the apps are functionally identical there are a few key differences: BitTorrent offers web-based seeding, commenting and reviewing, and you may find that the BitTorrent client is welcomed by private trackers that don't like uTorrent.

Review and where to download: BitTorrent

7. Vuze

The paid edition has more features, but the free version is still excellent

Vuze (formerly Azureus) claims to be the most powerful BitTorrent client on Earth. We're not sure how it ranks on other planets. There are two flavours: the stripped-back Vuze Leap, and the fully fledged Vuze.

Both apps offer torrent download, media playback and support for magnet file links, but the main Vuze app also adds plugins, remote control via web or mobile and video conversion.

Download here: Vuze

8. BitComet

An ad-free client with old-school looks, but the power to handle any download

Why stick with torrents when you can also have HTTP and FTP downloads too? That's not as bloaty as it sounds, because BitComet is positioned as a download manager for any kind of file, not just torrents. It looks like Windows Explorer, doesn't try and install eleventy billion toolbars in your web browser and doesn't blast you with ads.

It's not as pretty or as user-friendly as some other apps but there's lots here for power users to play with and it's a perfectly decent torrent downloader too.

Download here: BitComet

9. BitLord

Simplicity is king with this client, bundled with the superb VLC Media Player

Torrent clients don't get much simpler than this. BitLord aims to be the simplest torrent app around, and as part of that it doesn't include any useless bundled software. It does include an integrated version of the excellent VLC Media Player, however, which means you can play pretty much any kind of media file ever invented, and it's very good at helping you find things to download.

It might be a little stripped-back for experienced torrent fiends, but if you're new to torrents, BitLord is a good place to start.

Download here: BitLord

10. Tixati

Another pared-back torrent client with a frill-free interface and no adware

"NO spyware. NO ads. NO nonsense", says the blurb, and that's a pretty good start - but there's not much point in having a nonsense-free experience if the app doesn't cover the essentials. Thankfully Tixati does, although its none-more-black interface might put you off: the main window makes it look like you're running something in MS-DOS.

It's designed to be as lightweight as possible, boasts great filtering options and lives up to the no-nonsense promise.

Download here: Tixati

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